The interdepartmental program in Food, Agriculture and Society offers a six-course, interdisciplinary concentration involving core and supporting courses as well as an internship. The program exposes students to the social and biophysical aspects of complex food and agricultural questions. It aims to produce graduates who: 1) understand the fundamentals of food and agricultural systems; 2) have broad interdisciplinary training on the theme of food, agriculture and society; and 3) are able to connect their interdisciplinary training on food, agriculture and society to real word experiences and application.

Food, Agriculture, and Society Concentration

Structure of the Concentration

The concentration consists of 6 courses: three (or more) core courses, one approved 4-credit internship with reflective paper, and up to two supporting courses. When developing their individual concentration plan, students must consider the following:

1. No more than two courses may be counted in another major or concentration (with the exception of interdisciplinary majors);

2. Courses in the concentration must be spread across at least three different departments;

3. Given that the Macalester curriculum is constantly evolving, students may petition the director to have classes not listed count as a core or supporting course.

Internship with associated reflective paper

An approved 4-credit food and agriculture-related internship. Internships will ideally have a faculty sponsor from the steering committee. Included in the internship experience should be a reflective paper where, among other things, the student makes connections between their academic training and the world of practice. All internships require approval of the Internship Office.

Supporting courses (two courses, or less if student takes more than three course courses)